Ukraine has firmly communicated to the United States that limiting the size of its armed forces or compromising its military readiness crosses a “red line,” according to a senior official. This assertion comes as Donald Trump seeks to broker an agreement to end the ongoing war with Russia.
In contrast, Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed his desire to see restrictions placed on the size of Ukraine’s military. Furthermore, he has insisted that Ukraine renounce its aspirations to join NATO and allow Russia to maintain control over four regions of Ukraine that it claims as its own territory. As Pavlo Palisa, a senior Ukrainian official, stated in an interview with Reuters, “This is a principled position of Ukraine—no one, and certainly not the aggressor country Russia, will dictate to Ukraine what kind of armed forces Ukraine should have.”
Palisa further explained that a well-prepared military serves as Ukraine’s best assurance against potential future Russian aggressions, especially as a ceasefire or peace negotiations progress. He remarked, “I can guess what the Russian Federation is guided by—maybe they want to prepare, to make it easier for themselves in the future, but no. Our task is to learn the lessons of the past well.”
During an initial meeting with US officials in Saudi Arabia, Ukraine accepted an unconditional 30-day ceasefire proposed by the United States. Following this, Washington resumed military assistance and the sharing of intelligence with Ukraine after a brief hiatus. However, Russia has insisted that critical conditions must be ironed out before a ceasefire can be correctly established.
The parties involved separately agreed to suspend attacks on each other’s energy infrastructures, but both sides have since accused one another of violating these agreements. Presently, Ukraine is contemplating a new round of discussions with US officials next week. Ukrainian representatives have shared evidence of Russian assaults on energy facilities with the United States, and Palisa has insisted that Ukraine is adhering to the agreed terms.
The Trump administration has advocated for a rapid resolution to the large-scale conflict initiated by Russia in February 2022, yet a sustained peace settlement seems far from achievable. The fight continues, with Ukraine’s chief general claiming that a new Russian offensive has already commenced in the northeast region, where Russia claimed it had taken hold of another village in the Sumy area.
These claims arose following reports from Ukrainian officials indicating that at least 12 individuals were injured in a drone strike targeting the central industrial city of Nikopol. The Russian defense ministry declared that its troops had “liberated” the village of Zhuravka, just beyond the Ukrainian frontier. Such reported advances highlight the ongoing challenges faced by the Ukrainian military, which has been steadily losing ground in Russia’s Kursk region since a surprise incursion was launched last August.
In the wake of a Russian drone strike on Dnipro, Ukraine’s leading military official, Oleksandr Syrsky, cautioned earlier this week that Russian forces have initiated offensives in Sumy, where they are progressing after pushing Ukrainian troops out of much of the western Kursk region, as well as in the neighboring Kharkiv region.
In regards to the assault on Nikopol, the governor of the central Dnipropetrovsk region reported that Russia had targeted the area with a drone, injuring a 16-year-old boy severely. This attack followed overnight airstrikes by Russian forces on Kyiv and the southern Black Sea area of Mykolaiv, leaving around a dozen people wounded. Journalists from AFP reporting in the capital noted the sound of air raid sirens and explosions piercing the night as the assault unfolded, with the air force announcing that Russian attacks involved 145 drones, of which 85 were intercepted by air defense units.
Amid these military activities, officials shared harrowing images of rescue workers in Mykolaiv evacuating victims from the aftermath of the attacks and sifting through the rubble. While Ukraine has made its stance clear regarding its armed forces, it has also stated that it will never acknowledge Russian sovereignty over Ukrainian territories. Nonetheless, Ukraine has publicly conceded that recovering some of those lands through military force will not be possible.
In addition to fortifying its military prowess, Palisa highlighted the crucial role of security guarantees from the US and European allies in deterring future Russian incursions. While the United States has yet to commit to providing such security assurances, discussions have emerged among some European nations regarding a “coalition of the willing” that could deploy troops to bolster deterrence efforts. Palisa anticipates an escalation in Russian assaults later this month and into May, indicating that a concentrated effort may focus on the eastern city of Pokrovsk, along with surrounding eastern and southeastern fronts like Kupiansk, Lyman, Zaporizhzhia, and Novopavlivka.
“The absolute priority, in my opinion, will now be on the Pokrovsk direction,” Palisa asserted, acknowledging the strategic importance of the city in Russia’s ongoing attempts to fully control Ukraine’s Donetsk region, of which it currently occupies about 20% of the territory.
As Ukraine faces uncertainty regarding the future of US military aid, a lack of new assistance could eventually affect the availability of missiles for its Patriot air defense systems, as well as the offensive HIMARS and ATACMS systems. Palisa noted that discussions on additional aid with the US have not yet occurred, although the topic may be raised as ceasefire negotiations progress.
Furthermore, Ukraine is actively injecting resources into developing its own air defense capabilities. Palisa mentioned that several nations have agreed to transfer licenses and technical documentation for the production of “certain equipment” within Ukraine. “The process is moving, and quite dynamically,” he concluded.
Edited By Ali Musa
Axadle Times International – Monitoring.
